TRIZ – Flexible housings and thin films
“How about Blow up Dolls?”
After pitching that idea, I just let the visual sink in and wait for the expression of disgust, especially from the women in the room.
I throw this example when we get to focus this lens; Flexible housings and thin films. Of course, the audience immediately assumes that I am talking about products for men with romantic problems, but I am not. The example I am referring to is the use of an inflatable doll, dressed in a police uniform, as a fictional police officer sitting in a patrol car parked on the side of the road.
I guarantee you will hit the brakes as soon as you see this inanimate cop. You cannot say that the doll is not real, until you have already passed. This kind of illusion is popping up everywhere as a means of getting commuters to slow down, without having to pay someone $ 25 an hour to sit on their ass with a radar gun.
Where else would this type of application work?
The flexible shell and thin film lens is technically defined as:
1. The use of flexible housings and thin films instead of three-dimensional structures.
aie Use thin film inflatable structures as winter covers on a tennis court or swimming pool
2. Isolate the object from the external environment by flexible housings and thin films.
aie Float a film of bipolar material (one end hydrophilic, one end hydrophobic) in a reservoir to limit evaporation.
Consider Tylenol gel capsules. Gel capsules reach the consumer’s bloodstream more quickly than traditional powdered tablets, providing faster relief from aches and pains. The thin layer serves to encapsulate the gel in the bottle. The peel dissolves in the digestive tract and the pain reliever is absorbed into the bloodstream.
Have you ever noticed that a Coors Light can is much thinner than a Budweiser? The Coors can is made from a very thin piece of aluminum. This thin shell that encases “Silver Bullet” beer is lightweight and inexpensive to produce. In fact, aluminum is so thin that it cannot support the weight of boxes stacked on top of each other if the can is not supported by the pressure of carbonation in the beer.
Hand warmers and bottle warmers are another application for flexible shells and thin films. If you ever examine a hand warmer, you will see that the warmer is actually encased in a flexible casing. You actually have to remove the packaging and shake or break the contents of the heater to activate the heating element.
Bottle warmers work the same way. You boil the heater to establish a chemical structure inside the bag. Then wrap the warmer around the bottle. Once you squeeze it, the flexible film inside breaks and allows the heater to create an exothermic reaction and heat the bottle.
Protection and Prevention
Two examples that stand out in my mind are surgical gloves and condoms. Surgical gloves must be strong enough to ensure sanitary conditions for both the patient and the doctor. These gloves protect patients from exposure to potentially infectious materials and protect healthcare professionals from exposure to diseases and viral infections that live in body fluids.
The condom is designed in a similar way. Condoms must be waterproof, elastic, and durable to protect people from sexually transmitted diseases and prevent unwanted pregnancies. At the same time, this protective layer must be thin enough not to hinder the sensations of sexual intercourse.
A flexible shell or thin film does not have to be a physical object. Many corporations use “open door policies” that encourage employees to address their complaints to executives or the company CEO when the employee believes that middle managers will not be able to resolve the conflict or will retaliate against the employee for filing the complaint. . The open door policy is a symbol of a thin shell because employees can traverse the hierarchy of the company to access top-level management without hindrance.
How could applying a flexible housing or thin film improve your product or service?
